Job summary
- Main area
- Volunteers
- Grade
- Voluntary
- Contract
- Voluntary: All applicants must be able to commit to one set shift per week for a minimum period of 6 months.
- Hours
- 1 session per week (Available Shifts: Monday-Sundays, 11:00-14:00 or 16:00-19:00)
- Job ref
- 317-Vols-Assessment-Suite
- Employer
- The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- RVI Hospital
- Town
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Closing
- 31/12/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Assessment Suite Support Volunteer
Voluntary
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job overview
The role of the Assessment Suite Support Volunteer is to form part of a dedicated team of volunteers offering support to staff and provide essential nutrition and hydration support and companionship for patients attending the department.
Your support will be beneficial in improving the patient’s experience while on the department, by providing valuable companionship this will help alleviate stress and anxiety. You will also support patients’ recovery through mealtime support, ensuring all patients receive timely hydration and nutrition.
Main duties of the job
• Serving refreshments – tea, coffee, cold drinks etc.
• Helping patient’s when completing menu cards.
• Supporting with the meal service.
• Providing companionship to those patients who are on their own.
• Helping patients to contact relatives/friends/carers.
All duties will be overseen by nursing staff and will never include feeding patients or clinical tasks, such as personal care.
Working for our organisation
Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
• Freeman Hospital
• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service
• Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• Good listening and communication skills are essential.
• Able to handle a fast paced, constantly changing environment in a calm manner.
• A caring, sympathetic, sensitive manner and a non-judgmental approach.
• Reliable/Dependable/Flexible.
• Understanding of confidentiality.
• A positive outlook and enthusiastic approach.
• Able to work independently without direct supervision.
Person specification
Specific skills / attributes required by volunteer
Essential criteria
- A caring, sympathetic, sensitive manner and a non-judgmental approach
- Good listening and communication skills are essential
- Reliable/dependable/flexible
- Have a positive outlook and enthusiastic approach
- Understanding of confidentiality
- Able to work independently without direct supervision.
- Able to handle a fast paced, constantly changing environment in a calm manner
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Kathryn Fletcher
- Job title
- Senior Volunteer Services Administrator
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0191 282 4075
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